“Empire” returns this week and the hit series has already been renewed for a fourth season, but that doesn’t mean the show can go on forever — well, at least according to star Taraji P. Henson.

“I could not do this forever. No. Cookie wears me out!” Henson exclaimed during a recent interview with Variety. “She drains me,” the actress adds with a laugh. “She is emotionally all over the place. Those writers, they just keep pushing my emotions with every episode. By the 18th episode [of each season], I’m dead. I got to get far away. I don’t wear animal print. I cut my hair into a bob. I don’t wear a weave because I’ve got to get as far away from Cookie as possible.”

When asked if she has a number of seasons in mind she’d like “Empire” to stay on the air, Henson quips, “Once it’s syndicated — and then I’m